Daskas pulls out of race against Porter (UPDATE)

(First posted at 12:30 p.m.) Robert Daskas withdrew today from the race to unseat Republican Rep. Jon Porter in Nevada's 3rd Congressional District. And Nevada's top party leader expressed disappointment.

"We are sorry to hear that Robert Daskas has decided not to run for Congressional District 3," Nevada Democratic Party Chairman Sam Lieberman said in a statement released this afternoon. "Robert would have made an excellent candidate and member of Congress. Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus has the track record, the experience and the know-how to serve Nevadans well in Congress, and has proven she can win this District."

Daskas' campaign issued the following press release this morning:

"Citing family considerations, Robert Daskas has announced his decision to withdraw his candidacy for Nevada’s Third Congressional District. The Daskas campaign has every confidence that another strong, viable candidate will enter the race and unseat incumbent Jon Porter. Daskas thanks everyone for their support and asks supporters to stay focused on the common goal of changing our representative in the Third Congressional District. Democrats now hold a 22,500 voter registration advantage over Republicans in the district."

The announcement is a blow to state Democrats who had hoped to ride the voter registration advantages gained from the party's presidential caucus in January to victory this November. Porter had been targeted by the national party as one of the most vulnerable Republican incumbents in the country.

Rest assured, party leadership is hustling to find "another strong, viable" candidate. They only have two and half weeks. The filing deadline is May 16.

As for the party's difficulty in recruiting candidates, read this Sun story.